Comics and Sweaters
by evelinaonline
Summary: When Cole struggles with finding Christmas gifts, he gets everyone ugly Christmas sweaters. It's the fifth year in a row that Jay is wearing his, and another one that Cole has to swallow his feelings for him.


**This is a gift to agent-pebble on tumblr, for the Ninjago Secret Santa of 2018! Hope you like it, and Merry Christmas dude!**

* * *

Cole had to admit, he wasn't proud of the gifts he got the others on the first Christmas they spent together.

Sure, ugly Christmas sweaters were a common gift, but also nothing compared to the things Zane got everyone. It had been five years, and Cole _still_ used the pair of headphones he had gifted him. Who on their right mind could possibly put use to a ridiculous looking sweater for that long?

Well, to be fair, Jay Walker was _not_ on his right mind.

The ninja in blue always came up with the strangest ideas, like upgrading the coffee machine to make ice cream of all things, or run barefoot on the snow to see how long he'd last. He was always fidgeting around with something, and Cole most definitely didn't notice how Jay mumbled under his breath when he worked, or how he bounced his leg, or-

Or maybe he _did_ notice these things about Jay.

Cole shook his head and snapped back into reality, preventing his mind to wander to places it shouldn't.

It was too bad reality wasn't much different than his fantasies.

Jay was curled up on the living room's couch, a blanket thrown over his shoulders, and a comic book - that he was absorbed by - in hand.

And he was wearing the sweater.

Of course he was wearing the sweater.

The sleeves of the yucky blue color were obviously too long for him. The phrase "Happy Holidays" was badly sewn in the middle of the shirt, accompanied by an equally ugly _pink_ Christmas tree.

It looked absolutely horrible, and Cole couldn't get his head around what his younger self was thinking when he purchased it.

Yet, despite the monstrosity Jay was wearing, he managed to look adorable. His eyes were glimmering in joy, and although he had already read that issue of Fritz Donnegan's adventures a dozen of times, he still gasped in surprise at some of the pages.

Cole cursed himself for staring.

How couldn't he though? It was rare to see Jay actually still - not to mention quiet - and the sight only made Cole wish there were more moments like it.

When Jay giggled out loud at one of the pages, that was it for Cole.

He could have sworn his heart skipped at least seven beats, but for the sake of starting a conversation, he yelled at his heart to go back to normal.

"Watcha laughing about?"

Jay looked out from his comic book, grinning from one ear to another. "You wouldn't get it, it's a Fritz Donnegan thing."

"Explain it to me then?" Cole couldn't help but chuckle. "It's not like you don't talk about the comics all day long, I'm sure I know enough to get it."

Jay rolled his eyes at him, but there was no hiding the urge to ramble about his favourite character. Cole made himself comfortable on the couch next to Jay, and motioned him to continue.

"Okay so," Jay started, not a second later, as if he had prepared his answer before he was even asked to explain, "in the tenth issue, Fritz goes to this ice planet where he meets…"

But Cole wasn't listening.

It wasn't like he wasn't paying attention to Jay - quite the opposite, actually. Jay's excitement as he spoke was undeniable, Cole could tell by the way he moved his hands to illustrate explosions, and the shimmer in his bright blue eyes.

Cole was simply choosing to pay attention to other aspects of his friend.

"And that's why-" Jay cut himself off. "Are you listening?"

"Of course!"

He wasn't.

"Oh really?" Jay smirked, and Cole tried not to make it obvious that he gulped. "Then tell me, Mr. Earth, what did Fritz do when he came face to face with the ice monsters?"

If only Cole had listened to a word of Jay's rambling, things would be less awkward now. Surely there was nothing Cole could actually say - because there was no way he'd tell Jay he had ignored him - so he did what he could do better; He stared.

The slightly mischievous look on Jay's face had his eyebrows upturned. The tiny notch on his right one seemed like it was smiling at Cole, which made him question his sanity, because how could an eyebrow notch _possibly_ be smiling at someone-

The blue in Jay's eyes striked Cole's with lightning, paralyzing him. They were a storm, and Cole was falling a victim to it.

His freckles looked as if they were guiding Jay's grin, adding to the slightly rosy color his cheeks had picked from the cold. Cole noticed even the tiniest of freckles, since they were all equally beautiful, the same way that Jay was.

And his lips, and how Jay was biting the bottom one, as if he was waiting for something-

It was then that Cole realised that his eyebrows had softened, the storm in his eyes had calmed, and his freckles stood out to bright red cheeks. It was as if he was trapped in a scenery he couldn't escape from, one that was getting closer and closer, until-

Until he was kissing him.

Cole couldn't tell at what point specifically it had happened, but he wasn't planning on missing out on it searching.

The warmth of their kiss was slowly taking over his entire body, despite the temperature being below zero. Jay's lips felt so soft against his, and the way they locked felt almost natural.

Cole wished this moment could last forever, but it only lasted a few seconds.

Soon their eyes locked again, and Cole noticed how there was a new spark in Jay's, that he couldn't quite define. Regardless, it was beautiful, and Jay was beautiful, and Cole couldn't believe how amazing that had felt.

Jay chuckled under his breath, leaving Cole stunned once more.

"That's not exactly what Fritz Donnegan did to the monsters in my comic book…" he said quietly, almost like a mumble.

"I must have misheard," Cole managed to speak up, his tone equally quiet.

"I have to admit though," Jay continued, "this has to be the second best gift you have ever given me."

"It was pretty ama- Wait, second?" Cole tilted his head in pure confusion. "What's the first?"

Relief washed Cole over as Jay's smirk returned on his face.

"The sweater."

Cole groaned, while Jay broke into giggles again. "Oh come on, it's hideous! How can you even like this thing, it has a _pink Christmas tree_ on it, Jay!"

"It's because it gets a reaction out of you," Jay admitted with a joking manner. "Seriously, I've never seen you so disappointed."

"This is why you wear it all the time?!"

"Yep," Jay said, popping the P.

"You little _shit_."

Jay had now broken into full-on laughter, and even though the dark secret behind wearing something so horrible had been revealed, Cole couldn't help but let the butterflies in his stomach tickle him and get him to laugh too.

Jay scooted closer to him, and their lips met again, continuing their dance. This time, however, they were both smiling throughout it.

* * *

 **That's it, my final bruiseshipping story of the year! It's been a long ride, but it was so fun!**

 **I may post another story by the end of 2018, but I can't tell yet. Regardless, if this is really the last story of the year, I wish every single one of you happy holidays! 2018 has been one huge journey, and I hope we all learn from it and make 2019 an even better one. Let's make the new year count!**

 **Thank you so much for all the support you've shown me. To those who read my stories (especially those who left a comment!), you've played an important role in my life this year. This has to be my most productive year in writing yet, and I couldn't have done it without you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. Hope you have a fantastic new year!**


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